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Francis Blessington

Headshot of Francis Blessington

Professor of English

Francis Blessington’s major area is Milton and seventeenth-century English literature. He has written two books on Milton that have become standard: Paradise Lost and the Classical Epic (Routledge) and Paradise Lost: Ideal and Tragic Epic (A Student’s Companion to the Poem) (Twayne). Currently, he is writing a book on Milton’s use of witchcraft in Paradise Lost. He also teaches Greek and Roman literature and the Bible, emphasizing their relevance to the modern world. Also a poet and fiction writer, Professor Blessington teaches courses in creative writing.

View CV
  • Nominated for Excellence in Teaching Award (2011)
  • Outstanding Professor Award (Spring 2010, Sigma Delta Tau)
  • Nominated for Excellence in Teaching Award (2004)
  • Outstanding Alumni Award in Arts and Humanities (1998, Northeastern University Alumni Association)
  • Poems from Underground (Deerbrook Press, 2017)
  • Euripides: Hecuba, Helen, and Trojan Women: Three Plays About Women and the Trojan War (University of Wisconsin Press, 2015) (verse translations with commentary)
  • The Last Witch of Dogtown (novel)
  • Paradise Lost and the Classical Epic
  • Paradise Lost: Ideal and Tragic Epic
  • Euripides: The Bacchae and Aristophanes: The Frogs (verse translations)
  • Lantskip (poems)
  • Lorenzo de’Medici (play)
  • Wolf Howl (poems)

Related Schools & Departments

Courses

Course catalog

  • Global Literature to 1500

    ENGL 1700

    Introduces students to the ancient and classical literatures of Greece, Rome, and the eastern Mediterranean, as well as other premodern literatures in translation.

a mural by Daniel Anguilu provides a colorful background for magnolia blossoms outside of the Curry Student Center

Milton

ENGL 3618

Concentrates on Milton’s Paradise Lost, with supplementary readings in his minor poetry and prose.

Francis’s Colleagues

Nicole Aljoe

Professor of English and Africana Studies; Graduate Program Director
Headshot of Erika Boeckeler

Erika Boeckeler

Associate Professor of English
Picture of English Professor Elizabeth Britt

Elizabeth Britt

Professor of English
Headshot of Ryan Cordell

Ryan Cordell

Affiliated Associate Professor of English

Kathleen Coyne Kelly

Professor of English

Theo Davis

Chair and Professor of English
Headshot of Elizabeth Maddock Dillon

Elizabeth Maddock Dillon

Distinguished Professor of English
Headshot of Julia Flanders

Julia Flanders

Professor of the Practice in English; Director, Digital Scholarship Group

Chris Gallagher

Professor of English

Gary Goshgarian

Professor Emeritus of English

Laura Green

Senior Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education; Professor of English and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Headshot of Carla Kaplan

Carla Kaplan

Davis Distinguished Professor of American Literature; Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Lori Lefkovitz

Ruderman Professor of Jewish Studies; Director of Jewish Studies Program; Professor of English
Headshot of Neal Lerner

Neal Lerner

Professor of English
Headshot of Marina Leslie

Marina Leslie

Associate Professor Emeritus of English